Where the Primroses Grow: Unwanted Reunions
by Ann Nomynous
Summary: Katniss is sure that she will never have any sort of friendship with Gale after Prim's death. Then, ten years after the war, a single letter forces them together, and things begin to get crazy in the Mellark house.
1. Useless Mail

Chapter 1: Useless Mail

I shuffle through the mail. Bills, taxes, letters from Effie, and then something catch my eye. I examine the letter under the living room light to make sure I read it right. Nope, it doesn't change. The address on the letter is still the same.

_Mr. Gale Hawthorne_

_8 Rebel Street_

_District Two, 02134_

My hands begin to sweat. My heart pounds in my chest. Why would Gale be writing to me? I realize my hands are shaking and I am biting down on the inside of my cheek. Dr. Aurelius and I talked about these, attacks from my PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder).

"Katniss?" says Peeta, walking into the living room. "Are you okay? You look a little flustered."

"I'm fine," I say, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. I tuck the letter into my leggings. "Here's the mail." I hand Peeta the stack of useless letters and papers. "Just the useless boring stuff."

He inspects the bills, taxes, and letters from Effie, than says, "Why don't you come sit with me Katniss. I was scared that you were having an attack for a moment there."

He knows me better than this. I can tell that he knows I'm hiding something. We can always read each other like that. After all, I've been married to him for eight years. I can still remember his happy twenty-year-old face when I accepted his proposal. The wedding involved no rings, no large gatherings, and not even fancy clothes. We just had a classic District Twelve toasting in Peeta's living room, our living room.

I wait for Peeta to leave for the bakery, than I slip into the cellar and read the letter. I told Peeta I would go to the woods later. Maybe I will, if I feel like it. I still feel bad for lying to him though.

I open the crisp, Capitol made envelope with my hunting knife. My hands are shaking again. It takes me a minute to fully focus on the letter, before I can read the words:

_Hey Catnip,_

_I was wondering if you and Peeta had a bedroom to spare. It'll only be for a little while. My wife Saffra and I have been fighting a lot and we've decided it's best that we separate for a while. Don't worry; it'll only be me. Saffra will take care of Natalia until everything is sorted out._

_I know you're probably still mad at me, but I'm really sorry, okay? I've tried and tried to find a way to make it up to you, but I couldn't figure it out. Saffra claims I'm obsessed with bringing Primrose Everdeen back from the dead, but I'm only trying to help you. I have some ideas, but you probably wouldn't like them anyway. They're not good enough for Prim. She would've wanted something more, something more meaningful._

_What do you say Catnip, friends? I won't blame you if you choose never to forgive me. I have done a horrible thing and there's no way to fix it._

_Your friend,_

_Gale Hawthorne_

Tears are streaming down my face. I didn't know Gale and Saffra were fighting. The only letters I've gotten from Gale since the war were a wedding invitation (which I declined), and a note with a picture of baby Natalia from a year ago (which I discarded).

My head is swarming with thoughts and I decide to lie down and see what comes out of that.

My head is swarming with mixed thoughts when I finally fall asleep. Only to meet the nightmares that await me.


	2. Sweet Dreams

Chapter 2: 'Sweet Dreams'

I wake up to the smell of Peeta's best cheese buns with brie. I can tell something's going on. Peeta only uses that cheese on special occasions, or when he's breaking bad news to me.

I know for a fact that it's not a special occasion. It's only April, both my birthday and Prim's are a month away. Our ann-iversary has passed and Peeta's birthday is in January.

I feel my leggings for the letter and it's not there. I look everywhere: under the bed, in the covers, under the pillows, in the pillowcases, even behind the headboard. No letter.

Peeta must've taken it!

I bolt downstairs and into the kitchen. Peeta is placing a plate of cheese buns on the table when he sees me. "Hey Katniss," he says. "I made your favorite, cheese buns with brie. Have a seat."

I sit down across from Peeta at the counter. I eye him suspiciously but he pretends not to notice. I take a bite of my cheese bun and the rich, creamy cheese melts in my mouth. Brie is hard to get and expensive, Effie only sends us a pack every month and Peeta usually saves it for newly wed couples in the district so they can have special toasting bread.

"So, Katniss," says Peeta, halfway through the meal. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

I almost choke on my cheese bun. I know what Peeta is leading me towards. He's found the letter. I can sense it. "Peeta," I begin. "You know I can't talk to him and I was going to tell you tonight and-"

Peeta reaches across the counter and kisses me. It's not our usual kisses, but the type that only come every so often. The kind that we invented for ourselves that last night on the beach during the Quarter Quell when we were sure we'd both have to kill ourselves so the other could survive.

"Katniss?" he whispers, our noses are touching but we are not kissing anymore. His warm hands hold my head in his hands. "I called Gale."

He has shattered the moment. I jump up and leave the counter, not even bothering to take my cheese bun. I storm through the house. I cross the street and open Haymitch's door without even knocking.

He's passed out on the floor. I can tell he won't wake up easily and I don't intend to waste my time trying. I step over his drunken body and pick up his phone. I dial the only number I know besides my mother: Johanna.

"Who is this?" she snaps. I can feel the slight sarcastic tinge that's always in her voice, no matter what she's saying. It makes me feel more secure.

"It's Katniss," I say. "I'm calling from Haymitch's phone."

"Oh, hi brainless. I thought you were Ricardo."

"Who's Ricardo?"

"My idiot of an ex-boyfriend. You're probably used to me referring to him as Retardo."

"Oh."

"So, what is it Mockingjay?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Sorry brainless. I just wanted to hear your reaction. It's funnier every time. What's your problem anyway?"

"My problem is that Peeta told Gale he could stay with us until him and his prissy little wife file some divorce papers!"

"Whoa brainless. Calm the fuck down. It's good that gorgeous is coming to visit you. Now I have a real reason to come see you and lover boy."

"Fuck," I mumble under my breath.

"What was that? I thought you said fuck, but the Girl on Fire's too pure to say that, right?"

I hang up the phone. Even after ten years, she still insists on dragging out that joke. I wish Prim was alive, or even Finnick. Just someone that I could talk to without being made fun of!

The phone rings again, but I ignore it and walk out Haymitch's back door so Peeta won't see me leave. I'm going to the woods. I'm going hunting.

_Author's Note: Special thanks to the-unforgiving for being my first ever review! That really warmed my heart! I wrote a Harry Potter/Hunger Games Crossover fanfic but nobody seems to care and now that someone's actually said that they liked my work makes me feel so awesome inside. The last time I worked up the courage to show my work to the world, one of my closest friends laughed at me._

_I'd just like to say that I don't cuss unless I feel like the character would say that, it's all part of their dialect. So, that's just something to get you guys thinking._


	3. Into the Woods

Chapter 3: Into the Woods

I spend the rest of the week in the woods. Sometimes I am out so late, by the time I get home it is dark outside. Peeta looks more and more worried every day. I want to apologize, but a cloud of darkness and sorrow conceals me.

I eat so little my shirts hang loose and I have to wear a belt extra tight to hold up the waste of my pants. I feel like the starving girl in the rain again, but this time I ignore the boy with the bread. I have gone down four sizes so far.

I kill about a squirrel a day and then sell it to the butcher rather than eat it myself with Peeta. Dr. Aurelius calls but I ignore him and continue to starve myself. Every night I dream of Prim's death, but I refuse to let Peeta comfort me.

I wear the same outfit for three days and am planning to wear it a fourth when Peeta leads me into the bathroom one morning. It has been exactly a week since Gale's letter and he arrives tomorrow morning.

Peeta strips me down and turns the Capitol made shower to a warm setting. He washes my hair while I sit in the warm tub with the plug in and the warm water raining down. He scrubs dirt from under my nails fills the water with a bubble bath. He doesn't leave until I'm done with my shower. Even then, he just hands me a towel and helps me dry myself.

"Don't worry," he whispers in my ear as he combs through my tangled hair on our bed. "I'm here and I'll help you through this. It's not easy for me either."

I realize that I never really thought of how Gale's visit would affect Peeta. I guess that even after all these years, Peeta is jealous of the relationship I once had with Gale Hawthorne.

"I don't want him to come," I whisper. "He killed her."

"It's fine," he whispers back. "We all killed someone that was loved during that war. Remember what I did to poor Mitchell when we were in the Capitol?"

I close my eyes and the memory of Peeta kicking Mitchell into the pod resurfaces in my brain. I have tried to forget that memory for so long. I have tried to forget all memories that remind me what Peeta was, what he can still become.

"But I barely knew Mitchell," I whisper. Tears are forming in my eyes. I fear my PTSD is kicking in. "And it was an accident. You would never purposely hurt someone unless you were just defending yourself."

"Gale didn't mean to either," Peeta whispers, he's braiding my hair. His braiding isn't as good as mine, but it's surprisingly good for someone who has never had hair to braid. "He was defending the Rebels and himself from the Capitol. He never knew the bombs would drop when Prim was down there. Or you. And if he had, he would've sacrificed himself to stop you and Prim from being hurt. He loved you, and he still does, but now it's more like a sister than as a lover."

I'm silent as Peeta's words sink in. If I could tell my old self one thing, I would tell her to never let President Coin live to drop those bombs on Prim, and so many countless others. I would tell her to shoot down Coin the day before the Star Squad left for the Capitol. Then everyone in that square could have lived at least one day longer.

I turn around and hug Peeta, letting him smell my hair. The fancy Capitol made robe I am making twists around me and tightens around my waist, but I don't care.

"Did I mention how hungry I am?" I ask as he kisses me in the curve of my neck. He chuckles and for the first time in a week, I smile.

_Author's Note: Shout out to Guest, the-unforgiving, isra22, and theordinarity for their continued support. Hi guys. I'm so excited to see that I have so many supporters when I'm already so new to fanfiction. Am I actually that good?_

_This is a reminder to everyone to stay tuned and continue reading because the story is just getting started. And to answer the-unforgiving's question, this is more of a katpeale' story. (I will work on a better name, but for now, pretend it's just French or Italian or some fancy forgien language. Although I do kinda like the sound of katpeale'. )_

_Keep reviewing, and peace out girl scouts! I love you guys! XD_


	4. The Arrival

Chapter 4: the Arrival

"Come on Katniss," pleads Peeta from the other side of the bathroom door. He is trying to convince me to meet Gale at the train station. "I know you want to see him, come on!"

"Go away!" I snap. I want to be alone. The whole bathroom smells of the cider I took from Haymitch. I am sober enough, but things are beginning to have a strange tilt to them and my stomach is turning. Peeta hates it when I drink. That's partially why I made sure to choose the strongest drink Haymitch had, sadly he'd drunk them all so I ended up with the twelfth strongest. Haymitch has made himself extra drunk lately, I'm not sure why but I feel like it has to do with the fact that Dr. Aurelius comes to visit us all in a week and Haymitch is supposed to start having sessions with him then. My birthday is next week.

"Katniss," says Peeta. "Don't come for Gale, come for me please?"

Shit. Peeta knows that when he says that, I just might do things for him. That's how I ended up with a cake at the bakery made from katniss roots and named after me. I told Peeta that was a dumb idea, but someone he managed to get me to spend twelve hours crouching in the Meadow and picking katniss roots for the cake that he sold to some guy in the Capitol because she was having a Hunger Games themed birthday party and Peeta decided to make that cake with my name.

I open the bathroom door just a crack. Peeta looks down at me with his beautiful blue eyes. I groan and say, "I'm saying I'll come, not that I'll be nice."

His face breaks out into a smile and he says, "Good enough."

I study the waiting room around me at the train station. The couch I am sitting on is a rich royal blue. It matches the curtains and the vest and cap that the man at the front desk has to wear for uniform.

I can hear Peeta talking to the man, his name is Ivo and he has dark skin, black hair, and deep brown eyes. Ivo's daughter, Madeline, is eleven and he's telling Peeta about her.

I feel guilty when Peeta talks to people about their children because I know how bad he wants a child of his own. I will never have kids though. I have seen too many die.

"Hey Catnip," says a voice. I whip around, knocking over the vase of roses on the white coffee table. There stands Gale. He still looks like himself, but older than when I last saw him. He no longer looks like the young boy whose only joy anymore was defeating the enemy, no matter what the cost.

I glare at him and I notice that Peeta and Ivo have fallen silent. The plastic vase of flowers sits on the floor and I can feel the petals on my boots.

I am determined to ignore Gale. At least until he leaves, then I never have to see him again. Maybe I should make an exception for insults and fowl language. "Shouldn't you be in District Two designing weapons to kill off innocent people?" I snap at him. His eyes turn from full of sympathy to fill with fiery rage.

"Katniss," says Peeta. I can tell he's trying to break us up. "Katniss, shouldn't we get going now? Buttercup's probably hungry."

I ignore Peeta. Buttercup is twenty-one years old; he can feed himself by now. Suddenly, I hear a voice say, "Ahem." I see Johanna Mason standing in the doorway.

"How'd you get here?" I ask, surprised.

"I told you that I wanted to come see gorgeous. I was on the District Seven car. Mind helping me with my bags lover boy?" says Johanna, there's a smirk on her face. "Your district is even less desirable than I thought. I only saw three other people on the car and they were all going to some party in Thirteen anyway. Everybody got off the train pretty early. Most were only going a district away."

Peeta picks up Johanna's small brown duffle bag. How can she fit all her belongings into something so small? I take the duffle bag and Peeta grabs Gale's suitcase.

At least now I have Johanna to keep me company until Gale leaves. My only hope now is that Saffra finds a lawyer soon.

_Author's Note: Hi to the newest members of the Unwanted Reunions family; jojoweird and everettmom, Everlark-Is-Life, and . Sup guys! Thanks for everyone's support. I've actually made it to three-hundred-three views a day and I couldn't have done it without all your guys' awesome support!_

_Very special high to jojoweird for reviewing both The Horror Beyond Their Worlds and Unwanted Reunions! Tell me what you think about the nickname katpeale' and adding this story to series called Where the Primroses Grow so I can give out as much katpeale' love as possible! (Does anyone know if katpeale' should be capitalized or not?) Adios! _


	5. Competition in the Woods

Chapter 5: Competition in the Woods

"-And then he asked me if I wanted another drink," says Johanna.

"Shhhh," I tell Johanna. "We're about to enter the woods."

I help Johanna under the fence separating the Meadow and the woods. It is still up to keep the animals out, but the government hasn't had the decency to put up a gate yet so we don't have to crawl under.

I watch Gale struggle under the fence. He's always been tall and he's no used to slipping under the fence anymore. It just reminds me how he left to go to District Two and create weapons, rather than staying in District Twelve and hunting here with me. No, I remind myself, I don't want him to hunt with me. He killed Prim.

We walk over to our log and I toss Johanna the pocketknife I always keep in my sock. Then, I grab my bow and wreath of arrows. Gale has to get his own.

We walk into the woods. Gale almost immediately shoots a bird flying across the sky. Suddenly, I feel the slight sensation in me, the one that makes me want to beat him.

"Not bad, gorgeous," says Johanna. "But I know you can do better."

That's it, I shoot down a hawk, and the games begin.

_Author's Note: Sorry about the length, I didn't want to drag out something that doesn't need dragging out. I can't believe that my story has made it up to four hundred and fifty on the traffic graph! My Katpeale' story is booming and I couldn't have done it without your guys' amazing support!_

_Oh, and the-unforgiving, you did spell it right and thanks for saying that it should be capitalized. You haven't heard it around the fandoms because nobody but me would use such a random name for Katniss/Gale/Peeta stories._

_Don't forget to answer my question from the last chapter, "Should I make this into part of the series I'm working on?" The series will be called Where the Primroses Grow and I want to know what you guys think of my idea!_

_Thanks to for favoriting this fanfic and sorry for jojowerid for misreading her username and spelling it jojoweird. I really hope that I didn't offend you or hurt your feelings Jojo! Ciao and remember to answer my important question about Where the Primroses Grow. :D_


	6. Overkill and Nightmares

Chapter 6: Overkill and Nightmares

Peeta's mouth drops open in disbelief when we open the door. Gale and I have just dropped most of the things we killed off at the butchers and Greasy Sae's restaurant, but we're still soaked in blood and sweat and we're each carrying at least one dead animal. Gale's carrying the moose I shot and I'm carrying the buck that he shot. Johanna carries eight birds and squirrels.

"Katniss," says Peeta, running towards us, dropping the pan he was holding. "What happened?"

"Don't worry lover boy," says Johanna with a smirk on her face. "Brainless and gorgeous were just having a competition to see who could kill the most animals. They wiped out half the forest. The butcher's now smells like sweat mixed with blood and he said he's going to have to cancel his orders from Capitol. Greasy Sae said that she's going to be making sure that neither of these fools steps foot in the woods for three weeks, so yeah, nothing big."

Peeta's mouth is still hanging open. My shoulder hurts and it doesn't help that I had to carry Gale's dumb buck back from the woods. I wanted to carry my moose but I couldn't lift it and Johanna insisted I let Gale work his muscles.

"Peeta," I say, all the animals we killed faze him. "Can you help us put these in the backyard so Johanna and Gale can skin them?"

"Oh," says Peeta, helping me take the buck to the backyard. My shoulder feels like someone's just stabbed it with a spearhead. Years of hunting have done this to my shoulder before, but never this bad. I bite my lip as we put the buck on the table for skinning.

"Katniss?" says Peeta. "Are you okay? Did something happen in the woods?"

I nod and say, "Peeta, my shoulder hurts like hell."

xxx

Peeta pokes at his moose. I know he can't help thinking about all the animals Gale and I killed and I feel guilty and don't know why. Peeta usually wolfs down my game…

"So," says Johanna, her mouth full of moose. Manners were never something us in the districts usually learned. Most of us didn't have food to practice with. My mother worked hard to teach Prim and I manners since everyone that grew up in Town learned them at a young age but I'm used to watching people eat this way so it doesn't bother me. "What are the sleeping arrangements for tonight? Are we going to have to listen-"?

"You get the guestroom and Gale gets the air mattress," I say. I know what Johanna was planning to say and I have no intention of listening to her gross jokes.

Peeta sends me a look that says, _but I've been fixing the bed in the guestroom for weeks so Gale could sleep there._

I ignore him and continue to eat my moose and pretend that I don't notice the way he's looking at me.

xxx

"Katniss?" asks Johanna, she's standing in the doorway of my bedroom and there's barely any sarcasm in her voice. I can hardly tell its Johanna.

"Yea?" I say, Peeta's combing my dark brown hair.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asks, she keeps pinching herself on the arm nervously.

"Sure," I say, getting up and going into the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind me. Something tells me that Johanna's too embarrassed to say whatever it is that she has to say in front of Peeta.

"Could you come help me bathe?" she asks, pinching her hard on the arm.

I move her hand away from her arm and say, "Johanna," I say. "I'm not sure what to say, but shouldn't you be bathing yourself by now? You're thirty-three years old."

Johanna glares at me and says, "You know what I mean bitch." I know I shouldn't be making fun of Johanna, but I can tell she wants to smile, I barely ever make jokes, and when I do, usually they're just failed attempts to make small talk at a the parties that Peeta and I get invited to every once in a while.

"Fine," I say. "But you owe me."

We go through the guestroom and into the guestroom bathroom; then Johanna strips down. I must have the same look on my face that I did in the elevator because she says, "Look who looks seventeen again."

xxx

Johanna's only in the shower for about a minute when I hear the shower turn off and she says, "Pass the fucking towel! I'm wet!"

I pass her the light blue towel through the shower curtain and she hops out. She was only in the shower for a minute but she's pretty clean looking. The blood and dirt that covered her body is gone.

"I still don't get how you shower so often," she says, wiping down her legs, not caring about how uncomfortable I am seeing her naked. "Seriously, you shower at least three times a day. Being in that shower is like stepping through the gateway to hell. I didn't even want to shower that one time I was visiting Annie in District Four and that shithawk pissed on my head."

xxx

_I'm walking through the streets of the Capitol. I am dressed in the mockingjay dress that Cinna made and I have one thought in my mind: I kill Snow. I am walking towards the Presidential Mansion. It is decorated the same way it was the night of the party before the Quarter Quell, but only I am there._

_Then, I hear her scream, "Katniss! Katniss!"_

_I whip around and see Rue in the net trap set by the Careers. It's hanging from the balcony of someone's house. I reach for the knife in my boot, but remember that I am in the mockingjay dress and all I find are the silly high heels._

_Then I hear another scream, "Katniss! Katniss, look out!"_

_I turn around just as the bombs drop and Prim is in flames. I too am in flames. I can see the boy from District One, Marvel, running towards Rue. He throws the spear and it lands in Rue's throat._

_I try to shoot him but I am too encased in flames to do anything. Then, the hovercraft lands in front of me and President Coin comes out, a smirk on her face. _

_I hear Caesar Flickerman's voice say, "There you have it, Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire!"_

I wake up sweaty and twisted in blankets. I reach for Peeta, but he's not there, all I find is his pillow.

I hear a scream. I don't even check where the scream is coming from; I just start running, until I see the fence leading into the woods.

_Author's Note: Did Katniss seem OOC (Out of Character)? I wanted to channel her nightmares, but I'm not sure I got it right. _

_Don't worry, I'll try to post another chapter ASAP so that nobody has to wait too long to see who really caused that scream. Keep reading._


	7. Lumberjack Tears

Chapter 7: Lumberjack Tears

Gale is the first to find me. I try to conceal myself, but he knows my hiding places better than anyone and easily finds me a hundred feet (about thirty meters) up in a tree by my father's lake.

"Come on Catnip," he calls up to me.

"Fuck off!" I yell, trying to hold back the sobs. I hate crying in front of him, it's like surrender somehow and it makes me feel weak.

"Come on, there nothing to be afraid of! It was just a nightmare!"

"Then explain the scream jackass!"

"Come on Katniss, it was just Johanna! She got up to use the bathroom and the vase of flowers next to her fell and spilled water all over her! You know how she is about water!"

"Still! Why don't you just go back to Saffra already! I bet she misses you sleeping with her!"

That's it. I can hear the anger in Gale's voice when he yells, "Like I don't know what you and Peeta do at night! I'm right down the hall you bitch!"

Before I know what I'm doing, I hear Gale cry out in pain as the rock I threw hits him under the eye, on the cheekbone. "Now you know why I'd never choose you!"

That's when I feel the branch begin to split under me. I'm not very heavy, only a mere ninety-five pounds (about forty-three kilograms), but that's still a little much for the thin branches up this high, especially with all the shifting I did when I threw that rock.

Everything collapses and I fall, only to be caught twenty feet (about six meters) up in the tree, all my weight balanced on my ankle. "Damn it," I groan.

Gale runs for help.

xxx

I keep myself awake until we arrive at the hospital. Then, a nurse injects some sort of painkiller into me so they can work on my knee and everything goes black.

Thankfully, I don't dream of anything.

Then, I open my eyes. I'm in a white hospital room. My knee hurts like hell and it's so bandaged I wouldn't even be able to tell it was a knee if it wasn't connected to my thigh. I can see Peeta and Johanna sitting on a stiff leather couch across the room. I wonder where Gale is.

I let out a groan.

Peeta looks up and comes over immediately. He takes a seat in the gross looking leather chair next to my hospital bed. My leg is in a sling hanging by a thick metal wire to the ceiling. I hate hospitals and I feel the sudden need to tear the equipment from me and run, but something tells me that with my knee, that is not an option.

"Hey Katniss," says Peeta, kissing my temples. "Is your knee okay?"

"Yeah," I say. "But what the hell's going on?"

"You feel from a tree and landed in the lower branches with all your weight pressed your knee, which was pressed into the trunk of the tree."

"Oh," I say. "Do I need surgery?"

"They're not quite sure, only if your knee gets worse. For now, we're just the couple that walks funny."

I smile. Peeta's the only one that can make me smile and he knows it. "Can we go know?" I ask.

"In a little bit," he says. "In a little bit."

xxx

_I hate this fucking cast._ That's the first thing I think when I wake up the next morning. The cast is huge, white, and bulky. I dislocated my knee so it stops halfway up my thigh.

Peeta offered to sleep on the couch until I felt comfortable and familiar with cast, but I said no. The crutches are even worse. Going down the stairs is suddenly a horrible activity. My usually soundless steps have become loud and clunky.

"Good morning Katniss," says Peeta, connecting his prophetic leg to his nub of a thigh. "What do you walk for breakfast?"

I can tell he's being sweet and for some reason it makes me angry. I ignore him and hobble into our bathroom with my crutches, slamming the door behind me.

I look at myself in the mirror. My olive skin is badly scratched in places from the tree branches. There's one particularly bad scratch going through my eyebrow. Once again, I look like a patchwork quilt. This time I even have scratches to look like the stitches in a quilt.

I sit down on the closed toilet and lean my crutches against the bathroom wall. My leg is still sore and I think I slept on it funny, making it even worse. I can hear Peeta's uneven footsteps clomping down the stairs. I can't help feeling bad for leaving him like that.

I want to shower, but I'm nervous I might fall again in the shower and if I sit in the tub for a bath, I'll either be stuck of soaked. I brush my teeth while sitting on the closed toilet, then go and attempt to dress myself.

Fail.

I fall hard on my butt, my bra unclipped, my shirt on the floor.

The door flings open. "Shit," says Johanna. "Sorry. Need some help?"

I nod.

She helps me up and helps me remove my bra. When I hurry to cover my chest she says, "Don't worry brainless. Like I care about seeing your boobs. They're just like mine but darker."

I conceal myself anyway.

When she's helping me put on my socks, she says, "By the way, sorry for scaring you last night. You know I'm a freak about water. I didn't mean to scare you with my lumberjack tears."

"Thanks Johanna," I say. "I've never heard you apologize before."

"And you're never going to again!" she snaps. "Remember, tell anyone about this and I'll break your neck. So unless you wanna end up in a full body cast, I suggest you keep quiet."

I smile to myself. At least I have one friend, even without Gale.

_Author's Note: Awesome extreme thanks to Carmelle, Everlark-Is-Life, Jennybeth98, LissyCaroline, cassiewassiewoo, isra22, kimbaleena2002, rpdthatsme, , the-unforgiving, and theordinarity for following this story. You guys are all amazing and I am sorry for not acknowledging so many of you earlier._

_Another awesome extreme, extreme, extreme thanks to rpdthatsme and (again) for being extra awesome and also favoriting this story. I actually have people reading this on the traffic graph! (Squeal!)_

_By the way, I'm reading Divergent as part of a deal with my friend and she has to read the Hunger Games. I really want to stay true to my Hunger Games origins and not read it, but besides my stubborn remarks, I am quite curious. Tell me in the reviews, is Divergent really as good as people make it out be?_

_Don't forget to review my awesome people! XD_


	8. Birthdays

Chapter 8: Birthdays

I wake up to the smell of birthday cake and there's a box of chocolates next to me on the bed. I smile to myself. Today, I, Katniss Mellark, turn twenty-eight years old. I try to stand up, than fall on my butt.

_Damn it,_ I think. _I forgot about this stupid cast._

_Maybe I'll just wait a little while, _I think, biting into a caramel filled chocolate. The box is shaped like a heart and usually this type of thing annoys me, but today's special.

xxx

Breakfast is cheese buns. I notice Gale picking at his food. I can tell he's thinking of the marriage ritual in District Twelve. He hasn't been sitting with us much lately, usually he sits on the sun room in the back of the house and skins his kill while he works, but I think Johanna made him come.

Gale and her have a strange relationship, sometimes only she can make him do things, I've noticed that a lot lately.

"So brainless," says Johanna, biting into a cheese bun. "What's on the agenda today? I'm open to most party themes."

Gale smirks. He knows I've never exactly liked birthday parties and I don't intend to start now.

Johanna sees my face and says, "You don't mean to tell me you've never had a birthday party before, do you?" Her expression is priceless and she looks like she's just discovered that I'm half alien.

"Well," I say. "I've had small gatherings but nothing you can exactly call a 'party'."

Johanna's mouth hangs open in shock and I am thankful that she didn't have food in her mouth when I said that or she might have choked.

"Excuse me for a sec," mumbles Gale, walking over to the bathroom. Peeta starts clearing away the dishes. It's just Johanna and me now.

"Brainless, you're pathetic." Johanna's face is now more disgusted than shocked.

"God, Johanna, you're acting like my arms just fell off or something. I just don't like crowds."

"Crowds?!" Johanna drops her cheese bun. "How do you even leave your house? I'm sure you get invited to parties, do you just pretend to be sick and hide in the woods?"

Most people would be hurt if someone said this to them, but Johanna's like Haymitch and she can rarely hurt me. "What do you want me to do? Throw some sort of fake sweet sixteen party like Effie's weird friend did last year?"

"That's it!" says Johanna, jumping up as if she's just discovered the key to immortality. "I'm throwing you a huge birthday party and you're gonna love it!"

"Johanna," I groan, but she's already running out the front door to gather supplies.

My birthday just went from a great day to a disaster in a matter of minutes. It looks like Johanna's throwing me a birthday party.

xxx

Peeta rubs my back as I lay on the bed, watching some dumb game show where the contestants spin a wheel full of horrible things and then do them to win money.

My clunky cast takes up most of the bed space but I don't even care any more.

"You're tense," says Peeta, digging into my back. My top lies next to Peeta's clothes on the floor. He sits in only his boxers. My bare breasts rub against the sheets.

"I know," I groan. "You always say that."

"Cause you always are," says Peeta, kissing the top of my hand. "Just relax."

I close my eyes and attempt to relax. "How can I relax when Johanna's throwing me a huge party with a crowd I don't want to be around?"

"Why don't you like crowds Katniss?" asks Peeta. I hate when he does this. I hate when he asks me a question rather than answering mine.

"I like to be alone." I sit up and hug my knees to my chest.

"You're not alone right now," he says, scooting closer and wrapping his body around me.

"That's different," I say, leaning on his shoulder.

He kisses me in the womb of my neck and whispers into my ear, "I love you Katniss."

"I love you too," I whisper back.

I pull him in and we kiss.

There's a loud pounding on the door and we pull apart. Peeta quickly tosses on his clothes and I pull on my shirt just as Johanna kicks open the door.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she says. She's holding a stack of papers. "But I have some party ideas and I need your opinion."

She passes me the papers. They'll all printed websites with party ideas.

"What do you think of this one?" says Johanna, pointing to a page with a headline titled: Pool Party. "I know there's no pool in this sad little district, but there's always the lake in the woods and I'm sure Gale wouldn't mind watching you swim in your underclothes."

I bite my lip. I love the lake but it's my private place and I've shown too many people already. Plus, I hate it when people look at my body. In fact, Peeta and I were married for a year before I would even change without going into the bathroom first. I hate naked bodies.

"Are you sure?" I say. "Not everyone I know can swim-"

"Fine, what about this one?" Johanna hands me a page titled: B-Day Game Show.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, not wanting to read the page.

"It says; _Pretend you are at a game show and have each party guest answer questions about the birthday girl/boy. Every question is worth five points. At the end, the person with the most points wins a prize presented by the birthday star._"

"I like that idea," says Peeta, I turn around and see him sitting on the bed behind us. He wraps his arms around me.

"Okay then," says Johanna. "Game show it is. See you later birthday girl. Don't get knocked up or anything while I'm gone. Bye."

"Wait!" I say but Johanna has already slammed the door and I can hear her opening the front door.

I turn around to glare at Peeta.

He tickles me under the arms and I bite the inside of my cheek hard to stifle a laugh. Blood fills my mouth. Although, I am a little curious to watch Gale's reaction to the game show birthday party.

xxx

"Come on!" says Johanna, pulling me over to the armchair that she has placed next to the TV. "Let's start the game show brainless."

Gale, Delly, and Peeta are already sitting on the couch, waiting for the game show to start. They each hold a bell for answering. My mother showed up at the doorstep an hour ago. Apparently Johanna sent everyone an email.

"Read this," whispers Johanna, shoving a stack of index cards into my hands and passing me the microphone. I can't help thinking of those stupid cards that Effie wanted us to read at the Victory Tour.

"I don't want to host!" I whisper, shoving the microphone at her. "You've already forced me into this thing, I'm not gonna deliver it too!"

"You have to, you're the party host!" Johanna shoves the microphone back at me and I am thankful that at least it's not on or our whole argument would be broadcasted live to everyone in the living room.

"I don't even want to be the fucking host!" Johanna's eyes are filled with rage and I know that if someone doesn't grab the microphone fast, she might punch me.

"I'll host," says Delly. I didn't even notice that she had walked over. She takes the microphone and index cards, then plops down in the armchair.

Glad I don't have to host the stupid 'game show', I walk over to the table set up next to the stairs and grab a beer.

"Hey Katniss," says a voice. I turn around and see my mother standing behind me. "Want to come sit and watch the show with me?"

"Sure Mom," I say. Even after all these years, it still feels awkward between us.

We walk over to the chairs Peeta placed in the corner and sit down. Then the games begin:

Delly: "Welcome everyone to Name That Fact. Featuring questions about Katniss Mellark, written and produced Johanna Mason. I'm your host Delly Cartwright and these are today's contestants: Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark. Anyway, lets get started.

First Question: What's Katniss's favorite color?"

Peeta: "Forest green!"

Delly: "Correct! Peeta gets the point!

Second Question: What's Katniss's middle name?"

Gale: "Trick question, she has no middle name!"

Delly: "Correct! Gale gets the point!

Third Question: How much does Katniss weigh?"

Gale: "Ninety pounds!"

Delly: "Incorrect! Ninety-five pounds! Peeta gets the point!

Fourth Question: How old was Katniss when her father started teaching her how to hunt?"

Gale: "Seven!"

Delly: "Correct! Gale gets the point!

Fifth Question: What are Katniss's two favorite flowers?"

Peeta: "Primroses and dandelions!"

Delly: "Correct! Peeta gets the point!

Sixth Question: What was the last grade Katniss attended before winning the Games and stopping school?"

Peeta: "Junior – no I mean eleventh!"

Gale snickers.

Johanna: "First answers only! Gorgeous gets the point!"

Delly: "Seventh Question: What's Katniss's mother's name?"

Gale: "Suzanne Marie Everdeen!"

Delly: "Correct! Gale gets the point!

Eighth Question: What is the plant that Katniss is named after?"

Gale: "Katniss roots!"

Delly: "Correct! Gale gets the point!

Ninth Question: What was the birthday of Katniss's little sister, Prim?"

Peeta: "May 23!"

Delly: "Correct! Peeta gets the point!

Tenth Question: How old was Katniss when her father died?"

Gale: "Ele-"

Peeta: "Eleven years old!"

Delly: "Okay, both of you are at twenty-five questions. Whoever gets the last question wins the game! And the grand question is: How old was Katniss when she started hunting again after her father's death?"

The room is silent when my mother yells, "Twelve years old!"

Then Delly says, "Congratulations Mrs. Everdeen! You are the winner of the game show! Come up to receive your special prize!"

My mother walks up to accept the cheap plastic trophy and I can tell that Gale is about to object when I see Johanna shoot him a look.

I take a sigh of relief. It looks like this party wasn't such a bad idea after all.

_Author's Note: Sorry if the game show was annoying and extra sorry for not writing for so long, I had school work and projects, and due dates, oh my. Can you guys believe that Katniss actually had a game show birthday party? I know, exciting, right?_

_Tell me what you thought of the twist where Mrs. Everdeen won. I had that planned all along, heeheehee. Only Suzanne Marie would know when Katniss started hunting again. After all, that was the first time in months that her stomach wasn't screaming for more._

_Did anyone seem OOC? Was Johanna's attitude about the party a little weird? Was Haymitch eerily quiet when he was at the party? Tell me in the reviews._

_Oh, by the way, I don't mean to spoil anything but there's some chemistry heating up between Gale and Johanna, if nobody's noticed that yet. The next chapter's sure going to be a dirty pleasure. ;D_

_P.S. Google 'All About That Paste' for a hilarious parody of 'All About That Bass'. And did you know that Mellark is Greek for bread? That makes Peeta's name literally Pita Bread!_


	9. Awkward Nights

Chapter 9: Awkward Nights

"Katniss," says Peeta softly. I open my eyes. He works late on Fridays so he doesn't have to work the weekends. We always eat breakfast together that morning.

I roll over and onto my back. One of my bra straps has fallen and I snap it back into place. "What's for breakfast?" I ask with a yawn.

"Cereal."

I groan and roll onto my stomach.

"Come on Katniss," says Peeta. "You know I can't be late. Libo can't work on Fridays and the bakery needs me."

I sit up. Peeta is still swooped over me. I pull him in for a kiss and he falls next to me and onto his back. I sit on his lap as he unties my braid, causing my hair to fall in waves down my back.

"Katniss," he says, breaking apart. "I really have to go, come on."

"Okay," I say. Just let me check on Johanna first, I heard crying last night."

I slide off his lap and pull on a robe before going down the hall to the guestroom.

"Johanna?" I say, knocking on the door. "Johanna, it Katniss. Are you alright?"

Still no answer, but I notice that the door is locked but slightly ajar. She must've locked it and not noticed that it wasn't closed.

I open a door and a scream escapes my throat.

Gale and Johanna are sprawled out on the guest bed, their clothes in a pile on the floor and a blanket covering their naked bodies.

xxx

I sit in the bedroom as Peeta calls Dr. Aurelius. He called a bakery a few minutes ago, after I had an attack.

"Yes Dr. Aurelius," says Peeta into the phone. "Yes, I'll make sure to tell her that."

He hangs up the phone and sits down on the bed next to me.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before he says, "Dr. Aurelius said that the attack probably came from shock. He wants you to relax today. Okay? That means no hunting."

I nod. My knees are squeezed tightly to my chest and I sit awkwardly in the middle of our bed.

"Katniss," he says, wrapping his arms around me. His warmth seeps into my cold body and for a complete second, I forget everything that happened today and my mind goes blank.

"Peeta," I say, it comes out a croak. I clear my throat. "Peeta, when will Gale leave?"

"I don't know. Katniss, Saffra and him are in a tough spot and they're probably both still confused. And now Gale's pulled Johanna into the whole mess. He can't go home now."

There's a soft knock at the door.

Johanna opens it and her head pops into the room. "Hey brainless. Are you okay?" She's pinching her arm again and I can see red marks from where she's drawn blood.

I turn around, as not to face her. I'm not talking to Johanna. Not after what happened.

Peeta gets up and leaves the room. Damn, why does he have to leave me to talk to Johanna?

"Katniss," says Johanna. The sarcasm that is always in her voice is now barely recognizable. It doesn't sound like her voice. She's never called me Katniss before. I can hear the sorry in her voice. "Katniss, could you forget what happened last night? I promise that it wasn't what it looked like."

I'm just about to turn around and glare at her when Johanna goes running into the bathroom. I hear puking noises and the toilet flushing.

I bite the inside of my cheek hard, hoping with all my might that it is not what I think it is.

_Author's Note: Hey. I've noticed a real slow down in reviews. Am I being shunned or something? I can write a lot more now that most of my due dates for school have passed. Please review, I'm getting worried. _

_What did everyone think of the whole thing? Was anyone OOC?_


	10. The Test

Chapter 10: The Test

I stirred my stew nervously. It was my favorite; lamb with dried plums, but I was too worried about what might happen.

Johanna was in the bathroom, taking a pregnancy test. She had barfing a lot since the 'incident' and it lead us all to some suspicious ideas. Gale's been a wreck lately. Is it bad to say that I kind of feel like he deserves to feel this way? Our relationship has gotten even worse lately.

I'm not sure that Peeta caught on at first, the school at District Twelve was never the best and he probably has long forgotten the old cheesy video sent in from the Capitol that showed us signs of pregnancy.

I remember; my mother often treated pregnant women in the Seam. Those in Town could afford the doctor though. I told Peeta my suspicions though. I hope I wasn't right.

"Johanna," calls Peeta. "Are you alright in there?"

Peeta's the only one able to speak. Gale and I are too nervous.

"One more minute," calls Johanna. I can hear the desperation in her voice. Johanna's not herself lately. The sarcastic edge has disappeared from her voice and it makes me even more anxious to know whether or not she's pregnant.

We hear a gasp and then a loud crash coming from the bathroom.

We all get up and run to the door. Johanna knocked down the painting that was hanging in the bathroom; the one of the dandelions that Peeta made me for our first anniversary. The painting's frame is broken and Johanna's rubbing her back where the frame hit her.

Peeta picks up the painting and Gale helps up Johanna. I stand there for a minute, unsure what to do, and that's when I see it: the little test on the bathroom counter, the one that says pregnant.

Peeta pats my shoulder, as if to calm me, and I realize that I am shaking.

_How did this happen? _I want to scream, but I can't.

We all stand there in shock for a few minutes before Johanna says, "How the hell did I get knocked up?!" She looks around as for an explanation, then begins the longest string of curse words I have ever heard, have of them aren't even familiar.

Halfway through Johanna's cursing frenzy, I realize that I'm in that position again. I'm crouched down, my face in my hands, and my elbows on my knees. I rarely get like this and Peeta knows it's a bad sign.

"Katniss," says Peeta quietly in my ear. "Katniss, are you okay?"

I find myself unable to answer and next thing I know, he's carrying me up the stairs on his back.

"At least you're not heavy," he says as he kicks open the bedroom door. I know he is trying to cheer me up, but I still don't say anything.

I can't.

Peeta sets me down on the bed. I immediately curl up into a ball and he begins to braid my hair.

It comforts me to feel his warm fingers as he softly braids my hair. He's become good at it over the years. Sometimes it almost reminds me of the way my mother did my hair that one morning before the Reaping, the morning that everything changed.

"Peeta," I say, almost soundlessly. "What do you think it would be like if she was still here?" I don't have to say who 'she' is. Peeta knows, sometimes I just can't bring myself to say her name.

Prim.

"Well," says Peeta, tying the loose end of my braid with a rubber band and laying down on the bed. "I think it would still be the way it was before. Every year, we would send kids to the Games, mentor them, than watch them die on screen. Chances are that we'd be dead too for attempting to start a rebellion.

"Either that or we'd still be broken. Gale would work in the mines day after day and our nightmares would be even worse.

"Prim would probably be married – I'm not going to pretend I never noticed the way Rory looked at her – and she might even have children that she would have to send into the Games.

"Snow probably would've forced us to have children and that would've been a mess, I know you don't want kids. She would still be here but everything else would be horrible and we would have never changed anything. You never would've changed anything."

I sit there silent for a moment as Peeta's words hang in the air, letting me absorb them. Maybe he's right; in order for Prim to have had lived, we would have had to deal with the Games for who knows how much longer.

"Still, I wish more than anything that she was here. She'd know what to do in this situation. She was always a better people person than me. I never really had any friends and everyone loved her. Everyone loved you too," I say. I lie down next to Peeta, my head rested on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

_Boom boom, boom boom._

"Sometimes I miss Pandoro and Bannock," says Peeta. These were his older brothers. All the Mellark boys were two years apart. Bannock could've volunteered for Peeta, but he didn't. Bannock was known in the Seam for being a player, especially to Seam girls. "Pandoro was always smart and he wanted to be a lawyer. He knew he couldn't though, because only people in the Capitol can be lawyers. When I came back from the Capitol, a part of me wished he were still here because now he could pursue his dream. Bannock was very popular at school, I'm sure you've heard the things that he did to Seam girls. That's one of the reasons I never could work up the courage to talk to you. I thought you might think I was like him: a player. But he was a great wrestler and he was always giving me advice to talk to you. Thank god I didn't take it, you would hate it if I wolf whistled at you."

"What was your dad's name again?" I ask. My voice is a little louder, but still quiet.

"Barmbrack."

"Is that a type of bread?"

"Yes." I know he wouldn't like it if most people asked him questions like this, but he knows I like hearing about his family.

"Describe it to me."

"It's an Irish bread with sultanas and raisons."

"Everyone called him 'Barm', right?"

"Yeah, he was always Barm Mellark the baker."

"Now you're Peeta Mellark, the baker, and I'm Katniss Mellark, the huntress."

I don't have to look up to tell that Peeta is smiling.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad day after all.

_Author's Note: Sup SPARIA89, blondmomma09, rpdthatsme, and . Thanks for favoriting. Another sup to ABlueHeron, Carmelle, Everlark-Is-Life, Jennybeth98, LissyCaroline, blondmomma09 (again), cassiewassiewoo, isra22, kimbaleena2002, rpdthatsme (again), (again), the-unforgiving, and theordinarity. Thank you all for following this fic._

_Sorry Jennybeth98. I know you didn't want Johanna to be pregnant with Gale's kid. (Or kids, heeheehee.) But I already had planned that and it all fits into the storyline. Hey, things can't always work out exactly the way you want in books or Prim would still be alive and Katniss wouldn't still be recovering from her death. Please try to keep reading anyway though._

_I have drawn a cover image, now I just have to take a picture and put it in. My drawing's not that hot but remember how young I am and that I was going for a kind of cartoony style._

_Did you know some people ship Joniss? (Katniss and Johanna.) I didn't even know that was a thing until recently but that's pretty awesome. I thought people were only shipping Kat-Pee (Katniss and Peeta), Everthorne (Katniss and Gale), or Katnick (Katniss and Finnick.) _

_Keep reading and remember to review and be good. Santa is always watching, even in January! XD_


	11. Roses and Reunions

Chapter 11: Roses and Reunions

I wake up and sun is shining through the window. The bed is cold and empty beside me. Peeta must've already left for the bakery. Last night I told him to leave, to let me be. There's just come battles that you have to fight alone, and this is one of them.

There's a vase of fresh primroses on the bedside table and I begin to cry. Today was her day, May 23, Prim's birthday.

My body is shaky and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. My pajamas stick to my body, my braid's become partially undone and there's hair in my face.

"Peeta," I groan, checking to make sure he really left for the bakery. There's no answer, I really am alone in the house.

I shakily sit up and slide off the bed. My feet hit the cold wood floor and I have to blink to stop more tears from coming. I've shed enough tears already. Today I want to stay strong, for her.

I wrap a soft pink Capitol made bathrobe around my body. It feels like I am wrapped in a cloud.

I open the bedroom door and check for people in the hallway. No one. Good, I don't want anyone to see me leave for the woods, I don't want anyone to follow me.

I trudge down the stairs, wiping tears from my face. I am beginning to make those horrible bawling noises I always make when I cry. I don't care though. Nobody's here to hear my cries of pain and agony, I don't want anyone to.

I drop onto the couch and curl into a ball, my face in my hands. I have tried to stay strong, but it's hard, even after all these years.

"Katniss," I feel a hand on my shoulder and whip around, my braid slapping me in the face. I glare at the person I see. I have no interest in speaking to him, not after what he did. "Katniss."

"Fuck off," I say. It comes out a choke through all my bawling.

"Katniss," he says again, sliding into a seat next to me on the couch. I make a point of scooting away from him. "Katniss, just listen, please."

I don't say anything, but I decide to listen, something inside me tells me it's the right thing to do. Besides, it's my house; I can make him leave any time I want if he says anything I don't like.

"Katniss, I'm tired of fighting, it's been almost **ten years**! I know you miss the friendship we had and I miss it too! You can really hold a grudge and you've proven that! I've never met someone so determined! It's time to give up now though Katniss. You know what they say: 'it takes a strong person to say sorry and an even stronger person to forgive them'. Hell knows you're strong Katniss, please forgive me. You know if I had one wish, I would use it to bring back Prim." A single tear rolls down his olive cheek and I can really see the pain in his grey eyes. Maybe Peeta's right, I really have missed my best friend, even after all these years.

_Author's Note: A bit of a short chapter, but I'm much more satisfied with this version than with the crappy version I deleted. This is much better and I finally got out the reunion I wanted to._

_Don't worry Katniss still loves Peeta! Katniss and Gale are like brother and sister, and after all, you don't go around making out with your brother do you? See, perfect Katpeale' ending. Now I just have to post the epilogue. _

_Remember, this is a series so there's a lot more Everlark life coming your way, along with some possible Gale/Johanna. (What do you call that? Galanna? Joale?)_

_Anyway, all the names of all you awesome people will be in the next chapter and make sure to check out my other stories and possibly join the 23__rd__ Hunger Games! Bye! :D_


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